Nietzschean Charm
by AndromedaFan
Summary: Set in Season 5. Harper and Rhade have always had their differences, but they were always able to work them out, for the most part. Girls, however, are a different story. Please review I'll try to update regularly. Just thought there weren't enough fanfic
1. Girl Scouting

Chapter 1 

"Come on Rhade, be a pal," Harper said desperately. Him and Rhade were at the bar. There was a group of girls at a table a little ways away.

Rhade just rolled his eyes and ordered a drink.

"Please? All the girls love you, can't you just introduce me to one of them?"

"Harper," Rhade said turning to him, "I'm not going to set you up with one of those girls."

Just then one of the girls walked up behind Rhade, "Hi Rhade," she said.

Harper looked at him pleadingly. Rhade gave in and said, "Ria, this is Harper."

"Seamus Zelazney Harper," Harper said with a grin.

Rhade got up and headed for the door. As he was leaving he heard a slap, followed by Ria's stomping feet. He saw Ria stomp towards the door looking very pissed off, with Harper behind her.

"Wait, come back!" Harper yelled, stopping by Rhade. "I was just kidding!"

"I take it it didn't go to well," Rhade said. "Do I even want to know what you said?"

"Probably not. Well, I guess it's just you and me big guy." Harper put his arm around Rhade.

"It's gonna be a long day," Rhade said scowling. But, inside he was smiling. The truth is, he kinda missed the stupid little things Harper did and said. It always put him in a better mood, even when he didn't show it.

Rhade noticed two girls walk in the bar. By this time him and Harper had gone back to their seats and their drinks. Harper had obviously noticed too. "Hey, look at them," Harper said, "come on Rhade, work some of that Nietzschean charm of yours." The two girls headed in their direction. Apparently he didn't have to.


	2. Sweet in Her Own Twisted Way

Chapter 2 

"Hi girls," Harper said, obviously nervous. The girls were both very pretty. One had straight, black hair and brown eyes. She was sizing Rhade up and was barely even looking at Harper. Harper, however, was looking at her, admiring her long legs and seemingly perfect features. The other girl looked disinterested. She was fairly short, even compared to Harper, and had light brown, shoulder length, curly hair. Her eyes were dark and Rhade couldn't tell what color they were.

"Hi," the girl with black hair said, still looking at Rhade, "I'm Vivian, and this is Lara. And who might you be?"

"I'm Harper, and my very drunk friend here is Rhade," Harper said, putting on, what he thought, was his most charming smile. Rhade just raised his glass to them and took a drink.

"So, what are two handsome boys like you doing in a place like this?" Vivian said. Harper was noticeably more hopeful at this comment.

"I think the question is, what are two incredibly hot girls like yourselves doing on a rock of a planet like this? This place can be pretty dangerous sometimes," Harper said.

"Well, we could use two big strong men to protect us." Vivian was staring straight at Rhade when she said this.

"Uh, Viv, I think I'm gonna go, OK?" said the girl named Lara.

"OK, I'll see you later. So, you boys mind if I join you for a drink?"

"Not at all," Rhade said. He was actually starting to like this girl; she was sweet, in her own twisted way. She was obviously flirting with Rhade but managed to include Harper in the conversation. Harper, of course thought she was flirting with him. Vivian ordered a drink and so did Harper. Rhade got a refill.

"So, Vivian..." Rhade began.

"You can just call me Viv."

"OK, Viv. I haven't seen you around here."

"Well, I used to live on Seefra-3, but there were no nice guys there. So, I thought a change of location would turn up someone good. I guess I'm in luck, I found two cute guys." Harper blushed and tried to hide it. Rhade just smiled and took another drink. "Hmm, I guess it's my turn to ask a question," Vivian said, "so, what brings you two here?"

"I'll answer that one," Harper said, glad to be back in the conversation, "I came from Seefra-7 to join Rhade and the rest of my, umm, friends I guess you could call them. They needed me here to help them with some very complicated technical stuff. Rhade, well, he's been here for what, nine months now. It's, uhh, kinda complicated how we got here before that."

"Who are your other friends?"

"Well, there's Dylan, and Beka, and Doyle, who's actually kind of Rommie," Harper said.

"What about Trance?" Rhade asked.

"Well yeah, but she can't remember anything. Anyways, that's beside the point. What I'm interested in is you. Like, where are you staying?"

"For the time being, nowhere," Vivian said, hopeful.

"You could stay with us," Harper said happily. Rhade shot him a death stare. "Come on, Rhade, have some compassion, oh right, the alcohol's desensitized you." Rhade continued with his death stare. "All right, seriously, she's got no place to stay, and the Andromeda has lots of empty crew quarters."

"Please, Rhade," she said, putting on her best sad face.

Rhade made a low growly noise, "Fine, but you'll have to take it up with Dylan, and he might not be so easy to persuade."

"Piece of cake," Harper said with a large grin on his face.


	3. Death Stare

A/N So many short chapters, I know, I'll try to make them longer. Please review, I need motivation. Hope you're enjoying this.

Chapter 3 

Rhade led Vivian through the halls of the Andromeda. Harper was babbling on about different little technical things about the Andromeda. Vivian looked bored and confused, but was trying to hide it.

Rhade was really beginning to enjoy being around Vivian, she had a lot of confidence and wasn't afraid to say what's on her mind without being mean. It had been a while since Rhade felt this way about a girl. Sure, there were plenty of girls that were more than willing to be with him, but he didn't feel attracted to any of them. The only problem was, Harper also seemed to have feelings for her, although he has feelings for just about every girl in the system. But there was another problem, what would Dylan think about Rhade bringing a girl on the ship. No doubt he would be angry, but maybe he would let her stay if Rhade gave him some sob story about how she had no place to go. Rhade shuttered at the thought. He would let Harper do the sob story; he was better at those kind of things.

Rhade felt his gaze drifting over to Vivian. Keep hold of yourself Rhade, he told himself.

"Rhade, are you OK?" Vivian asked. He had stopped outside Dylan's quarters but wasn't going in.

"Yeah, I was just thinking about how we are going to get Dylan to agree to let you stay here."

"Wow, you make him sound like a real hard-ass," she said. Rhade just smiled and opened the door. Inside Dylan was sitting at his desk looking at a flexi. He looked up at them, looking somewhat surprised.

"Rhade, Harper, I didn't expect to see you here. And who's this?"

"This," Harper said, "is the beautiful, charming, and temporarily homeless, Vivian."

"Hmm, homeless. Let me guess, you want her to stay here."

"Well, yeah."

"I won't get in your way," Vivian said, "and it won't be for long. Harper told me you were letting him and his friend Doyle stay here. And Rhade said he was planning on asking you if he could stay here too."

"Did he?" Dylan said, looking at Rhade with raised eyebrows.

"Andromeda has ample living quarters, lots of space to spare, my old quarters are here, and besides, you do have the best coffee," Rhade said smiling. It brought back old memories, being on the Andromeda; he remembered how when he first came on the Andromeda Dylan had told him about the good coffee.

Dylan seemed to remember too, because he noticeably softened his expression and smiled. He sat there thinking for a minute, looking around from Vivian, to Rhade, to Harper. Then he said, "Ok, she can stay, on one condition." Rhade raised his eyebrows. "You two have to help me fix up the Andromeda and find a way to get out of here."

"Sounds reasonable," Rhade said. He wasn't quite sure if he wanted to be tied down to helping Dylan, but the Andromeda did have nice quarters, and it might be nice to be around some friendly faces.

"Good," Dylan said cheerfully, "it'll be like we're a crew again."

At this Harper's eyes widened. "Hey, I never agreed to that!" Rhade rolled his eyes. He wasn't so crazy about the thought of being a crew again either. But at least he would have food, a nice place to sleep, and not to mention a hot girl staying there with him. As much as he hated to admit it, he was hoping him and Vivian would get a lot closer while living on the Andromeda. Although, he was pretty sure that Harper had similar ideas by the way he was looking at Vivian. This made him a little uncomfortable, so he said, "Umm, Vivian. I'll show you to your new room." So, they left Harper and Dylan standing there while he took Vivian to where he hoped they could be alone.

As they were walking down the halls, Vivian started asking questions. "So, you used to be a crew member on this ship?"

"Yeah," Rhade said, "a long time ago."

"Well, what happened?"

"It's complicated. I didn't exactly leave the crew, I was more, torn away from them. We were, umm, fighting on this place called Arkology. We were all split up, then we were tesseracted here, but all at different times." He chose not to tell her about Louisa.

"I don't understand."

"Like I said it's complicated."

By now they were getting close to the room Rhade had chosen for Vivian. It was big, had it's own kitchen, and a shower, which he knew from his experiences on Seefra, was a good thing to have. Unfortunately, it wasn't much use since they were trying to conserve water, but he'd let her take at least one shower.

"Here it is," he said, "home sweet home." He opened the door. Vivian walked in and immediately jumped on the bed.

"I haven't slept in a comfortable bed in ages!" she said. Rhade laughed.

"Just wait till you see my favorite part," he said. Rhade walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of nameless bottle of alcohol and two glasses. "Personal bar right here in your very own room, I knew there was a reason I wanted to come back here," He poured them both a glass. "Think of this as a sort of house warming party." They clinked glasses and both took a drink.

"I'm glad you're going to be staying here with me, Telemachus."

Rhade winced. "How'd you know my first name?"

"Harper told me when you weren't looking, he said you hated being called that," she said smiling.

"Well, somehow it sounds better when you say it." Rhade was beginning to lean in to kiss her when Harper opened the door and came in.

"Am I, interrupting anything," Harper said, knowing he was.

"No," Vivian said, "we were just having a house warming party."

"Ooh, mind if I join," Harper said pouring himself a drink. He sat down on the opposite side of Vivian. Rhade glared at him, Harper just smirked, knowing he had made Rhade mad, and very happy about it.


	4. Giddy Lovesick Schoolboys

A/N Another new chapter. I decided to do this from different people's points of views. Lots of mixed up thoughts and self-contradictions. Plus, you get to know a little more about Vivian. Enjoy! Chapter 4 

Rhade paced up and down his old crew quarters. He was angry at Harper for interrupting him and Vivian. He was so close, then Harper just came in and Vivian didn't even object. He didn't understand, didn't she feel for him the way he felt for her? Or was he just imagining it? And what really pissed him off was the way Harper had smirked at him, knowing how Rhade felt and enjoying it. That was what really set off his Nietzschean instincts. To get Vivian he would have to fight for her. Oh, and he would fight. Even though it _was_ Harper. But, hadn't he just been thinking about how he missed Harper? I mean, this is how he is, he can't help it. And Rhade _did_ have tons of girls hanging around him like Magog on an asteroid colony. And what did Harper have? Another android who didn't love him, at least in the way he wanted her to. But still, how could Harper even try to be with a girl like Vivian? She was completely out of his league. Besides, she was obviously more interested in Rhade. Or was she?

Rhade growled. This was all so frustrating. The jealousy, the doubt, the strange fluttery feeling he got in his stomach every time he saw Vivian. He wasn't supposed to have these feelings anymore, not after Louisa died. He thought he would never have to go through this again. Then again, wasn't he enjoying it? He loved the feeling he got whenever she said his name. He usually hated it when people called him Telemachus, but when she said it, it was different. He wasn't sure how, but it just was. He can't keep thinking this way. He's been pacing up and down his quarters for at least fifteen minutes now thinking the same things over and over. He would have to talk to Harper. But, what would he say? 'Hi Harper, I love Vivian so you can't have her.' Oh yeah, that would work. He could always threaten him, that might work. But that would just prove how low he's sunk in the last nine months. No, he would just have to win her over. That shouldn't be too hard.

Harper lay in bed thinking about Vivian. And Rhade. What was Rhade about to do when he had walked in? That was a dumb question, he was obviously about to kiss her. At the time Harper had acted all cool and confident, but he really wasn't sure what Rhade might do. He looked pretty pissed when Harper busted in on them. What if he tried to hurt Harper? Harper had dealt with Nietzscheans before and he knew how they got when you got in the way of them and their girls. He shuttered. Just thinking of Rhade beating him up gave him goose bumps. That guy is _huge. _He could flatten Harper. God knows he'd come close to doing it before. But wait, Rhade wouldn't do that would he? He had sacrificed a lot for Harper when they were kidnapped by the Patriarch. He was tortured and Harper didn't even notice. Yet, he hadn't held a grudge against him. He never got _really_ angry with him when he made fun of Nietzscheans. He still wasn't sure. All this, added with fatigue and caffeine withdrawal was giving him a major headache. He needed to get some sleep. Slowly, thinking about Vivian, Harper fell asleep.

Vivian was thoroughly enjoying all of this. Two guys fighting over her, who wouldn't like it? Especially when those two guys were Seamus Harper and Telemachus Rhade. On the one hand you had Harper, smart, funny, cute, and very available. Then, on the other hand you had Rhade, muscular, incredibly hot, deep, and mysterious. How, could she decide? She was leaning towards Rhade, but when Harper busted in on them it showed he could take charge. She thought she would let them fight it out. She loved watching men fight over her, even if it did break up a friendship.

Doyle stood on command with Dylan. "I don't like to see Harper like this," she said. He had been acting so strangely with this new girl around. Although, that was fairly normal for Harper. He wasn't a great judge of character when it came to women. That was why she was there, to protect him from himself, or rather, the women he decided to trust.

"Yeah, me either. But, that's the way Harper is around any woman. You get used to it after four years."

"You forget, I've been with him three years, if you don't count the four years I was Rommie."

"Oh, right. Sorry, I just forget sometimes. It's all a little confusing."

"Try being the one who's pretty much three people at once."

"Point taken."

Trance could feel it, something was wrong. She wasn't sure what, she still didn't remember much about this place or these people. But the air just felt tense, like something was building. Something that could not be good. She thought it had something to do with this new girl. She hadn't actually seen her, but Dylan told her about her. She was supposedly very beautiful, and had the two called Harper and Rhade fawning over her. She sort of remembered these two, more like flashes of memories, not actual memories. But, still that was something. She had been racking her brain trying to find something, some sort of recognition of anything. It was difficult, but as she spent more time with these people she began to remember just small things. One thing she did remember was how Harper and Rhade used to argue. And this girl could only bring trouble.

The Next Morning

Beka walked on to the obs deck of the Andromeda. Rhade and Harper were there with some girl. She looked like a slut. Beka almost laughed at this, Rhade and Harper like a girl and immediately she calls her a slut. But then again, it wasn't normal for Rhade to be drooling over a girl, Harper yeah, but Rhade? The only time Beka had ever seen him act like this was when he first met Louisa. Now there was a scary thought, it would be like Louisa all over again, only worse. She would rather have the drunk depressed Rhade than the giddy lovesick schoolboy Rhade.

"Hey, what's going on?" she asked.

"Nothing much," Harper answered. Beka was staring at Vivian, sizing her up. "Oh, this is Vivian. Vivian this is Beka."

"Hey," Beka said. Harper put his arm around Vivian and Rhade whispered something in her ear, making her laugh, and making Harper scowl. This was getting sick. It was even worse than with Louisa. Now they were fighting over a girl, for god's sake. And a fight between Rhade and Harper would not end up good, especially for Harper. Finally, Beka couldn't stand it anymore, she felt like she was gonna be sick. So she stalked out of the obs deck and headed towards Dylan's quarters.

Dylan was sitting with his feet on his desk, his arms behind his head, and his eyes closed when he heard the door open. He opened his eyes to see Beka, hands on her hips, standing in front of him. "Hello, Beka, I didn't expect to see you here."

"I just came to ask you if I could take a shower here when I saw Harper and Rhade with some girl on obs deck," she said. He knew who she was talking about. Vivian. He had agreed to let her stay on the Andromeda until she could find a place to stay for good. But by the way things were going it seemed like she would be there for a while.

"Yeah, that's Vivian. I told them that she could stay for a while."

"Really? Don't tell me you're drooling over her too."

"No, she didn't have any place to stay."

"You're such a softy." Truth is, Dylan was starting to get sick of Rhade and Harper following Vivian around everywhere. It was kind of creepy, especially for Rhade. Well, maybe he would talk to Rhade and Harper about their behavior around this girl, because he did _not_ want to see them get in a fight over her.


	5. All Sweetness

A/N Ok short chapter, but it gets better, I promise. 

Rhade and Harper were with Vivian on the obs deck when Dylan came in. "Vivian, I'd like to speak with Harper and Rhade alone please."

"Oh, umm, sure. I'll be in my room," she said.

Rhade looked angrily at Dylan, "So, what is it that's so important?" Dylan did _not_ like his tone at all.

"I want to talk about how the two of you have been acting since you've met Vivian. You both follow her around everywhere, and you are obviously fighting over her."

"What? That's is crazy. Besides how is it any of your business anyway?" Rhade said.

"I'm letting all three of you stay on my ship, and I don't want to see you to fighting over some girl you met in a bar."

"She's not just some girl," Harper said, "she is the most beautiful, intelligent girl I've ever met. And, she likes me!"

Rhade laughed. "You? Why would she be at all interested in you?" He laughed again.

"That's it, come on let's go, right here!"

"Stop it both of you," Trance said. No one had noticed her come in. She was walking slowly towards Rhade and Harper. "You two are supposed to be friends, and here you are divided because of a girl."

Harper looked down. Rhade just growled and walked out of the room and down the hall. Harper looked up and started walking quickly to the door. Dylan knew they were both headed for Vivian's quarters.

Later

Beka walked down the halls of the Andromeda to the obs deck. When she opened the door she didn't see anyone. She was about to leave when she heard a voice.

"Yes, I have them fighting over me like two dogs. They don't have a clue that I don't want either of them." The voice laughed. It was Vivian talking on a communicator that she probably took from Harper.

Beka's anger raged. Ooh, she would get her for hurting Rhade and Harper. They were _her_ boys, and she would not let this little slut hurt them. She listened to the rest of the conversation until she couldn't stand it any longer and walked out. She didn't plan on telling Harper and Rhade just yet. She would make little miss Vivie suffer a little first.

She stood outside the door until Vivian walked out. "Oh hi Vivian," she said all sweetness, "I didn't know you were still here."

"Hello, Rebecca."

Beka could have strangled her. _No one calls me Rebecca and gets away with it._ Just then Harper walked up. Beka was quick; she kissed Harper, running her hands through his hair. She pulled away and said, "Hi Harper baby, I was just coming to see you." She smiled sweetly, "Last night was great."

Harper was so stunned he didn't even say anything. Vivian was fuming. _Well, my work here is done, for now._ She walked down the hall with out another word. She had an idea.

1 Hour Later

Beka walked to the door of Rhade's quarters in a towel. When she opened the door Vivian was there. Vivian scowled at seeing Beka. "Is Rhade here?" she asked.

"Oh, well he's getting dressed. We were just taking a shower." Beka smiled and cocked her head, "Was there something you wanted?"

"No," she said quickly, and walked away. Beka's plan was working perfectly.


	6. Bad Choices

A/N Ok, another chapter. A little short, I've been having major writer's block, but the reviews are helping, so review more!!! The Doyle thing was kinda last minute, so, I hope you like it!

Vivian's POV

_I'll get her. She won't get away with this. She thinks she's fooling me by trying to act like she's involved with Harper and Rhade. Beka will regret the day she ever messed with me and my work. It won't be long now, the boys are at eachother's throats over me. Soon they won't be able to take it and they'll try to kill eachother. I've seen it all before. I seem to have that effect on men. _Vivian laughed maniacally.

Andromeda's POV

Andromeda watched Vivian. Her main AI may not be functioning properly but that didn't mean she couldn't still keep an eye on things. And she _knew_ that this girl was bad news. Harper had been her engineer, and closest friend besides Dylan, for four years, and she knew he was in trouble. He had been this way with girls before, fawning over them, worshipping the ground they walk on. It was sort of endearing, but it got him into trouble. Most of the time, the girls Harper fell for were not very good people. Andromeda thought over some of these girls; Dr. Professor Korkova, who wanted to take his brain, Elzabet, who was planning on starting a war at her wedding, and Randai and Tiki who had infected _her_ (Andromeda) with a slave driver program, to name a few. Andromeda could remember countless times when Harper had fallen for a girl who took no interest in him whatsoever.

Rhade, however, had not fallen for every girl he saw. Rhade was more, aloof. He usually just watched the action unfold and jumped in when he was needed. He had only been on Andromeda for one year, but she felt like she knew something about him. The only girl she had ever seen him fall for was Louisa, and she died. So obviously he didn't have high hopes for love. Besides, he's Nietzschean, he's engineered to be pessimistic. It's just part of that Nietzschean charm. Now, though, he seemed more laid back. She had seen him laugh more times in the last four days than she had the entire time he was a member of her crew. Andromeda found herself thinking that maybe the events on Arkology had happened for the best.

Doyle's POV

_He's so sweet, and naïve. He can't help but trust her. He wants to believe in love, I know it. Maybe I can get him to see the truth about Vivian and get him to love me. No, stop it Doyle, you're an android, remember? And he's a, what did Dylan call him? A Nietzschean, genetically engineered to pass on their genes. Why would he ever love her? He couldn't pass on his genes with an android. _

Doyle was in her quarters pacing. She couldn't stop thinking about Rhade. Ever since she'd met him she'd always felt herself blush, if she _could_ blush, when he talked to her. It was stupid, of course, he was in love with this new girl named Vivian, who Doyle hated for taking him away from her.

Doyle heard the door open. She looked up to see Beka standing in the doorway. "Umm, have you seen Harper? He was supposed to bring me a part he was working on for the Maru."

"He's probably off with Vivian," she said bitterly. Beka sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Of course," she grumbled. She walked in and sat in a chair. "So, what do you think about Rhade and Harper going crazy over this girl?" This made Doyle a little bit uncomfortable. She hadn't really talked to Beka at all, and she wasn't quite sure she wanted to discuss Rhade with her. She wasn't sure what she might say. She needed time to figure out how to say how much she hated Vivian, without giving away the fact that she had feelings for Rhade. Beka was obviously not going to wait that long for her to respond, "I mean, it's just so stupid how they're fighting over her. I don't see what so special about her."

Doyle couldn't hold her opinions in any longer, "Who does she think she is, just waltzing in here and acting like she's the hottest thing to hit since the last meteor? Then, she has to take over the whole ship, with her two groupies following her wherever she goes." Beka let out a snort of agreement.

"You know what I think? I think we should expose her for what she really is. Then maybe Harper and Rhade won't act like her brain dead-zombie-slave-boy toys." Doyle and Beka busted out laughing. Doyle thought she was going to like Beka.


End file.
